In the market for a 29" (21:9) ultrawide monitor, need suggestions.

stayontarget

My old 24" asus monitor found a new home in my daughters room so i'm on the the hunt for an upgrade. I'll be getting a Rx-480 this summer and would like to pair it with a 29" ultrawide but i have no clue which is the best choice for me. My budget will be around $300-$350ish.  Any insight from the community would be a great help.

tks

Quizzical

My suggestion would be don't, unless you're doing something weird with it.  If the primary use for the monitor is watching movies, then have at it, but that's a wildly inappropriate aspect ratio for most PC uses.  What are the main uses of your computer, anyway?

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

GladDog

Actually I have played a few games on a 21:9 monitor at a Best Buy, and I really like the wider view.  And movies run nicer at a native perspective rather than letter boxed.

Here is a 34" that I have my eye on, although it is a bit more than the OPs budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0JC-000D-003Z3

And a 29" that is barely within the OPs budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4P04BU0944

And a 29" well within the OPs budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824025112

stayontarget

It's as GladDog said, I prefer the wider view with the limited amount of games I play. I'm willing to go a little over budget.

Malabooga

Very nice IPS 21:9 29 inch with Freesync

https://www.amazon.com/LG-29UM68-P-29-Inch-21-UltraWide/dp/B01B9IDLAW

Cleffy

The 29" 21:9 aspect ration monitor has the same vertical height as a 24" 16:9 monitor. My suggestion is to just get a good 27" 16:9 monitor.

Quizzical

stayontarget said:

It's as GladDog said, I prefer the wider view with the limited amount of games I play. I'm willing to go a little over budget.

I don't know what games you play, but in most games--and pretty much everything other than movies and games--vertical height becomes a problem before horizontal width even at 16:9.  For most games, going from 16:9 to 21:9 just adds a bunch of stuff way off to the sides where it doesn't matter.

Now, there are exceptions to that.  Side-scrolling 2D games commonly prefer the extra width, and I don't play first person shooters, but people who do have said that those also prefer extra width.  But MMORPGs usually don't, and that's a lot of money for only 1080 pixels and a little under 12 inches of height.

gervaise1

Fry's also have the LG monitor (and one other LG) on their site (for $100 more) but that seems to be about it for 29 inches. Not a common size. Nothing listed on Samsung's site that I can see for example. If you were in the market for a non-ultrawide 32 inch .... but you are not.

(Cheaper because they get used to watch movies etc. or are TV monitors etc.)

Volgore

Quizzical said:

stayontarget said:

It's as GladDog said, I prefer the wider view with the limited amount of games I play. I'm willing to go a little over budget.

I don't know what games you play, but in most games--and pretty much everything other than movies and games--vertical height becomes a problem before horizontal width even at 16:9.  For most games, going from 16:9 to 21:9 just adds a bunch of stuff way off to the sides where it doesn't matter.

Now, there are exceptions to that.  Side-scrolling 2D games commonly prefer the extra width, and I don't play first person shooters, but people who do have said that those also prefer extra width.  But MMORPGs usually don't, and that's a lot of money for only 1080 pixels and a little under 12 inches of height.

Gaming is a visual experience, since when doesn't it matter what or how much you are able to see on screen? Of course it matters.

To the OP: I don't want to recommend one model or talk you out of getting another. Which one you'll be buying should be a result of your own research, so that you are confident that you have found exactly the right monitor on your own terms.
But in general i recommend to go for ultrawide. Changing to a 21:9 ratio will leave you wondering how you played in 16:9 for this long. You will never go back.

But keep in mind that in case you like to player older games, many of them don't natively support that resolution.
There are various 3rd party tools that support alot of games, enable widescreen, fix the UI etc, as well as forums in which widescreen users exchange their configs and tweaks for older games.

Also, with some games' engines i have had a weird picture geometry due to an unsually strong vanishing point effect if i don't adjust the field of view way down.
Wildstar is such an example. In 21:9 with an FOV of say 70 (that is perfectly ok in other games), you will get a fisheye view and the overall geometry has a very strong triangle to it that makes the game look off. You won't really notice it on a screenshot, as the effect mostly hits you when the game moves.

I used my mad mspaint skills and added a quick and dirty graphic to give you an idea:




However, this is but a rather rare thing, i have only noticed that in one or two games and had to set the FOV way down to compensate.

Have fun with whatever you'll be buying!

g0m0rrah

If you are going ultra wide, in my opinion of course, 34 inch is the perfect size. A 27 inch wide is about the same vertical height as a 34 inch ultra wide. I play at 1440p and that can be rough on my r9 390. I can't imagine what ultra wide would do...

Quizzical

Volgore said:

Quizzical said:

stayontarget said:

It's as GladDog said, I prefer the wider view with the limited amount of games I play. I'm willing to go a little over budget.

I don't know what games you play, but in most games--and pretty much everything other than movies and games--vertical height becomes a problem before horizontal width even at 16:9.  For most games, going from 16:9 to 21:9 just adds a bunch of stuff way off to the sides where it doesn't matter.

Now, there are exceptions to that.  Side-scrolling 2D games commonly prefer the extra width, and I don't play first person shooters, but people who do have said that those also prefer extra width.  But MMORPGs usually don't, and that's a lot of money for only 1080 pixels and a little under 12 inches of height.

Gaming is a visual experience, since when doesn't it matter what or how much you are able to see on screen? Of course it matters.

To the OP: I don't want to recommend one model or talk you out of getting another. Which one you'll be buying should be a result of your own research, so that you are confident that you have found exactly the right monitor on your own terms.
But in general i recommend to go for ultrawide. Changing to a 21:9 ratio will leave you wondering how you played in 16:9 for this long. You will never go back.

But keep in mind that in case you like to player older games, many of them don't natively support that resolution.
There are various 3rd party tools that support alot of games, enable widescreen, fix the UI etc, as well as forums in which widescreen users exchange their configs and tweaks for older games.

Also, with some games' engines i have had a weird picture geometry due to an unsually strong vanishing point effect if i don't adjust the field of view way down.
Wildstar is such an example. In 21:9 with an FOV of say 70 (that is perfectly ok in other games), you will get a fisheye view and the overall geometry has a very strong triangle to it that makes the game look off. You won't really notice it on a screenshot, as the effect mostly hits you when the game moves.

I used my mad mspaint skills and added a quick and dirty graphic to give you an idea:




However, this is but a rather rare thing, i have only noticed that in one or two games and had to set the FOV way down to compensate.

Have fun with whatever you'll be buying!

Well of course it matters how much you can see on the screen.  That's my whole point.  At 1920x1080, I run into a lot of problems with things that I want to see but can't because they're off the top or bottom of the monitor, and not so much things off the side.  Adding more vertical height would help a lot more than adding more horizontal width.  Moving to 2560x1080 adds more horizontal width, which really doesn't gain you much for most purposes.  Moving to 2560x1440 adds vertical height, too, making it a far superior option.

As for the fish eye stuff, it's basically a problem that most games are built around being perspective correct under the assumption that your eyes are about 8 inches or so from the screen.  (The precise distance varies, but it's nearly always much closer than you actually are.)  As people tend to sit further back, the perspective is all wrong.  Make it perspective correct and it lets you see so little as to make games really awkward to play, which is why they intentionally make it "wrong".  So there's a balance between making the field of view wrong enough that you can see what is going on and play the game, but not so wrong that it feels like an optical illusion.

Personally, I stayed at 1280x1024 (two monitors, both that resolution) at home until last year.  I think 1920x1080 is a stupid resolution for a computer monitor, as it's too wide for the height for most purposes, so I refused to move to it.  Last year, I finally moved to 4320x2560, which now means I have plenty of space and can have everything take however much space I want.  For example, this browser window is currently somewhere around 1450x1800--taller than it is wide.  I don't do small upgrades.

Ridelynn

I won't disparage anyone for wanting a ultra-wide, any more than I would anyone looking to set up triple monitors and fooling with the bezels and alignment.

Only advice I can give regarding monitors: Go look at them yourself if you possibly can, and don't believe any of the reviews or, especially, anything printed by the manufacturer.

If it looks good to you, and has all the inputs and bells and whistles you need, it's a good monitor.

Reizla

Malabooga said:

Very nice IPS 21:9 29 inch with Freesync

https://www.amazon.com/LG-29UM68-P-29-Inch-21-UltraWide/dp/B01B9IDLAW

I have 2 LG (22") LED monitors (type 22EN43) here and I would advice against LG if they use the same LED technique in all their monitors. The screen is way too bright and it's almost impossible to adjust to a lower setting. My old Iiyama (22") LCD monitor (type E2208DHS) is still my main monitor because it's light is a lot softer and can be adjusted a lot more from dark to light. Because of that the Iiyama is still my main monitor (also because it makes not much sense to have the Iiyama at the side followed by to LG monitors )

Malabooga

You are talking about TN panels and its not TN panel.

stayontarget

Thanks for all the feedback so far.  A few 27" mentioned above have caught my eye, like the Acer.

Does anyone know anything about PLS panels?  I found this one I like (thin bezel) but i don't know much about its panel or its overclocking Hz.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4JH3GA1794&cm_re=2560x1440_monitor-_-0JC-0009-00065-_-Product

spankybus

I have a Dell u3415w or whatever its called. Its a 34" curved monitor and was one of the cheapest 21:9 34" curved monitors when i got it (799 i think at the time). Nearest competitors were asking for 1k or so. But so far, its frickin awesome and i do not regret the purchase.

3440 bx 1440 Res. 4 or 5 MS response time, i think. lots of connection ports and can act as a hub if you own more than one machine.

I tried a non-curved 34" 21:9 (LG) before and the far corners felt too far away. the curve, though subtle, helps a lot.

JMO. GL

Just be prepared to deal with crap for any games that don't naively support wide ultrawide and multi-monitor games naively (Bethesda games suck at this). Lots of fixes out there to make games playable, but it can be a hassle. not often a problem anymore, TBH. but always check ahead for a games ability to render at 21:9 if you get one.

spankybus

The Dell

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-34-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00PXYRMPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470093256&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+u3415w

29" version (no curve)

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2913WM-29-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B00BIBB1KI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470093256&sr=8-2&keywords=dell+u3415w

Volgore

stayontarget said:

Thanks for all the feedback so far.  A few 27" mentioned above have caught my eye, like the Acer.

Does anyone know anything about PLS panels?  I found this one I like (thin bezel) but i don't know much about its panel or its overclocking Hz.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4JH3GA1794&cm_re=2560x1440_monitor-_-0JC-0009-00065-_-Product

PLS is basicly Samsung's own version of IPS. Both share the same technology, while Samsung claims that PLS uses clearer crystals.
It is said that PLS has better viewing angles and colors, but IMO the difference some see here is nothing you should nail yourself down on when buying a monitor, as there are other, more important bullet points.

At some time, Acer had a reputation of using b-ware panels (mostly in their notebooks) and their monitors came with dead pixels all the time. Just last week i had an Acer notebook here which had some dead pixels on the panel. Mind you, not some faulty pixels but completely dead.

Not to say that this will happen to you with this Samsung panel, but i personally would only go for Acer from a vendor that offers a screen check in advance.

Just an opinion.

Stewie001

I have owned the LG 29" Ultra Wide monitor for nearly a year now. It replaced an Asus 24". I am both a gamer and a student. I was primarily wanting to increase screen space for  working on homework, which has been well worth the investment (approx. $300). As far as gaming is concerned, the 2560x1080 resolution has been a joy in games such as Witcher 3, Far Cry 4, Guild Wars 2, Borderlands 2, Tera, and the list goes on. Until recently, I have only used 1 monitor, but now, I have my Asus 24" connected as well, for an expanded desktop for my school work and projects. I am running them with a 980Ti.

stayontarget

Well after a month of looking around and reading the feedback on the thread. I decided to buy this today. I should be happy with it and it was on sale, saved me around $110.  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009769

Acer XG270HU 27" 1ms 144HZ WQHD HDMI DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync (Free Sync) Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor Edge-to-Edge Frameless Design, 350 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers

Mendel

Problems of the rich!  Long ago, I managed to invest in a massive desk with hutches to support my compu-hoarding habits.  Sadly, a 21" monitor barely fits in the opening.  If I were ever to need to upgrade to a larger monitor, I'd either have to get a new desk, or consider moving the PC from the custom electrical setup I had installed.  Fortunately, I like my Acer 21" monitors.  I sorta have to.